Cancun Spring Break – Trip Report
For Spring Break 2025, we spent 4 nights in Cancun, Mexico. Here’s all the details…
Award Flights from Denver to Cancun
Because we have a Southwest Companion Pass and because Southwest flies non stop from Denver to Cancun, we flew Southwest to Cancun.
Denver to Cancun = 34K points + $136 for 3 people
Cancun to Denver = 55K points + $233 for 3 people
Flight prices during spring break were super high. We originally booked the 8am flight home from Cancun because it was the cheapest. But about a month before our departure Southwest changed the flight time. Because they made this small change to our reservation, we were able to change our ticket to the 3pm flight – which was actually about 50K points per person. So always keep an eye out if Southwest changes anything about your flight. You may be able to get a much better ticket at no extra cost.
Hotel Stay Using Marriott Free Night Certificates
We stayed 4 nights at the Marriott Cancun, All Inclusive.
Rates during our stay were $800+ per night.
For this stay, we used
– ONE 35K Marriott free night certificate &
– THREE 50K free night certificates
We had to top each one off with 10K – 15K Marriott points.
We earned all of those certificates with this card & welcome offer
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card
Earn 4 Free Night Awards
after spending $3K within 3 months of account opening. Redeem for a one-night stay at properties with a redemption level up to 50,000 points per night
Special Offer through 6/30/2027: Up to $100 in statement credits after spending $500 on eligible airline purchases. That’s $50 in statement credits semi-annually.
We did have to pay an extra $150 per night for the extra person fee for our 13 year old which I think is a reasonable fee.
Marriott Cancun All Inclusive Review
This hotel was a real disappointment for us. I can’t tell you how glad I am that I used points/certificates for this stay and not cash. Our 4 night stay would have cost us $3K. This is where points can REALLY shine also. Sometimes they shine because you get to do fun/amazing things. And sometimes they shine because you don’t feel awful spending money on something you didn’t love.
Let’s start with the good:
– The staff is incredibly cheerful and kind – we LOVED the staff!!
– You can make dinner reservations 5 nights before your stay via the AIMB app
– We had a DIRECT ocean view and an oversized balcony – gorgeous!
– The rooms were updated, comfortable and clean
– The mini bar had sodas (Pepsi products) and a couple of beers, plus regular lays chips were left daily
– There was an ice maker and water filler on the 1st floor
– My son & husband really enjoyed the beach volleyball
– We really loved going to Mo’s diner for shakes after dinner each night – it was never crowded and we never had to wait for a seat
Why we won’t return:
– The line for check in and check out is absurd – waiting 30+ minutes seemed standard
– We enjoy the “typical” all inclusive nightly shows that are family friendly like acrobats, neon dancers/break dancers, etc. This resort didn’t have nightly shows. One night was “casino night” and one night was rock music. Not something a teenager is interested in.
– The pool situation is AWFUL. One large pool with tons of chairs (barely any room in between them). ALL chairs are spoken for by 9am. Yes, I know. It was spring break. I wasn’t too shocked by this.
– There is very little shade at the pool. One permanent structure that provides shade. But then only a few umbrellas for the rest of the chairs.
– There are very few chairs on the beach. There is almost no shade at all on the beach. There were 4 palapa shades but due to the angle of the sand, you couldn’t even put chairs under them, just towels.
– Communication with the hotel prior to the visit was awful. I emailed several times with no response. I even confirmed the email address with their instagram team. Still, no response.
– There are no pool cabanas. Just a handful of pool “beds” that could be reserved. There was no way to reserve these prior to the stay and when we tried to reserve them once there, we were told they were already taken for our entire stay. But then later saw other people reserving them during our stay.
– The “water park” area is very small. The lazy river has exactly 9 tubes. While it was fun, after going around the river twice I was asked if I wanted to go once more (as in, your time is up – even though no one was waiting).
– This is the 6th all inclusive we’ve been to in the Cancun area. We know the food isn’t going to be great. But it was really not great here. Breakfast buffet food was consistently cold.
– For the size of the hotel, the lobby bar is small. And has ONE bartender. ALL THE TIME. Even at night. HUGE lines.
– Cancun beaches aren’t known to be great for swimming – but this one actually has giant, dangerous rocks in many places.
– Disappointing gym and no one under 18 allowed even WITH an adult – my 13 year old was super bummed he couldn’t work out with my husband.
Restaurants at Marriott Cancun All Inclusive
DINNERS (need reservations)
Ono Teppanyaki – Hibachi style. Great food preparer. Below average food. Super dry meat. No sauce 🙁
Casa Madre – Our favorite dinner of the trip. Tsaaj Wakax (fried ribeye) was fantastic.
Hana Polynesian Grill – Ask for a seat outside. 2nd favorite meal. Short ribs are great choice.
Ono Izakaya – Sushi/Japanese. Sushi was not good but the teriyaki salmon and chicken were good.
Breakfast
The 2 choices are both buffet.
Hana Polynesian is International buffet. The food area is tiny and it is a cluster and that’s being kind.
Casa Madre is the Mexican buffet. It is spread out and tons of choices and we never went back to Hana after trying this.
Etc.
For our transfers to & from the airport we booked USA Transfers. We’ve been using them since our 1st Cancun visit in 2014. The last few years, the wait to get a shuttle from the airport has gotten worse. It was 35 minutes this trip.
But on the way back, they were early.
Drivers are always super kind and friendly and we appreciate that a ton!
We booked a private 2 Cenotes & lunch with Absolute Adventure Mexico.
You can pick which Cenotes you want to do. We chose Jaguar because it had zip lining & a jumping platform to jump in the Cenote. And Dos Ojos because it was more of a cave style, including a swim into a bat cave.
Both of the Cenotes were fantastic. Jaguar we had completely to ourselves and Dos Ojos we had the bat cave to ourselves also.
Our guide was super friendly.
I’m glad we did this tour, it was a fun day trying new stuff. But it is a 90 minute (each way) drive from the hotel and the “authentic lunch” was pretty disappointing.
My Take
My biggest negatives with this resort were lack of shade. And lack of things to do.
But I had a reader say they stayed a few weeks before us and really enjoyed it.
I learned that I really do like the bigger resorts. I like lots of options. But lots of people don’t. They like these small ones. So it really depends on what works best for you and your family.
My biggest take away of all is that
1. I loved spending the time with my family – no matter what, I am SO very grateful for the time together
2. I think if you had little kids this would be a good choice of hotel. There was a cute little splash area and the waterpark would be the right size for them.
3. People are what matter the most – We didn’t have a bad encounter with hotel staff even once. They go out of their way to smile and be kind and helpful and they really are the shining start of this resort.
4. I am so thankful that I was able to use points/certificates for this hotel stay.
